Friday, April 9, 2010

Disney's POP Century Resort

As a family of four with a limited vacation budget, whenever we travel to Walt Disney World, we always stay at a value resort. As I've previously stated, on our first trip we stayed at the All-Star Music Resort and on our family reunion trip we stayed at the All-Star Movie Resort. On our last trip, we wanted to try something new (Sports is not our thing) and so we opted for POP Century.

At a first glance, I did not want to stay at th
is resort because it is far away from all of the...well, everything. It seems like it is off in a corner of the property and that it would take forever to get anywhere. Well, we decided to take a chance and booked our trip and I have to say, while it wasn't my favorite "theme" wise, it was certainly a great place to stay.

Per Waltdisneyworld.com:

Guest rooms are located in 10 brightly colored and whimsically decorated 4-story buildings—trimmed with huge letters representing iconic sayings from the decade they represent. Different sections of the hotel represent the 1950s, '60s, '70s, '80s and '90s.

The Resort's central building is named Classic Hall, and the facility includes the Main Lobby check-in desk, the Fast Forward Arcade and the Everything Pop shop and food court.

Unwind and enjoy 3 swimming pools—the main flower-shaped Hippy Dippy Pool, the smaller bowling pin-shaped Bowling Pool and the monitor-shaped Computer Pool. Younger Guests can cool off at the Goofy Kiddie Spray Area, an interactive play fountain located between the '60s and '70s section.

Disney's Pop Century Resort has been designated by the Florida Green Lodging Program, recognizing the Resort's environmentally responsible practices.

My husband is a child of the 70's so we asked for a room in the 70's complex. The building was adorned with all-things-70's like Mood Rings, platform shoes, leisure suits and 8-Track tapes. It was wild! We got a corner room on the third floor right on the lake. It was quiet and the scenery was lovely. We even saw fireworks from Epcot each night. The walk to and from the main building was not long and the bus service to and from the parks was amazing. I had stayed at deluxe resorts with my sister that didn't have such wonderful bus service!

The rooms were clean - housekeeping was great - and in general, it was a lovely place to stay. The only negative that I'd have to say is that there is a whole second phase of POP Century that construction has halted on and we could see it all from our room. I mean, I understand progress and all that and it wasn't like there was a any noise coming from the construction site, it was just a bit of an eyesore. Picky, right?

Our check in was speedy and the main building housed the lobby (obviously), the food court, gift
shop and arcade. Once you walk out the back doors of the main building it's like stepping in to a colorful new world. With giant icons and Disney characters all around you, you almost can't wait to see what is waiting for you around the next corner. We found a larger than life Foosball court, a giant Big Wheel, giant yo-yo's, Goofy getting ready to go surfing in his shiny new sports car, a giant Twister game spot...I mean, we could have spent a sold half a day just exploring the resort property!

I have to admit, when we go on our
next visit, I am torn between staying at POP again and perhaps giving the family suites at the All-Star Music a try. I guess it depends on how many are in our party. Bottom line is that this is a great value resort that is a lot of fun to stay at. The average cost is $89 per night. It is sort of like a upscale motel with the doors leading directly to the outside - there are no interior hallways or rooms, really. But again, most of us that are going to Disney are going for the parks and that's where we'll spend the bulk of our time, not in our rooms. So if you are looking for a good value resort, I would highly recommend the POP Century. It has it's own buses as opposed to the All-Star's which share their buses so that is a plus in travel time - less waiting.

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